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TOMORROW'S REPORTS TODAY. We're all supposed to keep holding our breath until September, but now that GOP senators are getting restless, President Bush is pushing hard to either wish away the benchmarks or stretch their criteria a bit:
In a White House memorandum circulated on Capitol Hill and beyond, the administration said it was “too early to declare the surge a success or failure,” but highlighted what it called signs of progress, including “a substantial drop in sectarian murders in Baghdad since January,” “total car bombings and suicide attacks down in May and June” and “signs of normalcy in Baghdad like professional soccer leagues, amusement parks and vibrant markets.”Fortunately, the independent National Security Network has been keeping tabs on those other, non-soccer benchmarks:
The country remains mired in multiple civil wars with Sunnis fighting Shi’a, Sunnis fighting each other in Anbar and Diyala, Shi’a fighting each other in the South, and Kurds fighting Sunnis around Kirkuk and Mosul. Iraqi Security Forces, who are supposed to be taking on greater responsibilities, cannot be trusted to enforce the law fairly, and all too often turn on American troops or take part in sectarian violence. Meanwhile, the Iraqi government is teetering on the verge of collapse. One third of the Cabinet, including the major Sunni party as well as the party of Muqtada Al Sadr, is currently boycotting the government. Without the participation of these groups there can be no meaningful progress on any of the key political benchmarks including the oil law, de-Baathification, or amending the constitution.The essential absurdity of the current political moment -- waiting for a report whose conclusions we already know -- is putting real strain on Republican senators. Many of the constituents aren't foolish enough to believe that David Petraeus (who, while much praised, failed to get results on his earlier tours) should get the final word on a problem that doesn't require West Point training to diagnose.--Matt Sledge
